Table 1:
Loneliness, sadness, and feelings of social disconnection in Medicare recipients 65 and older during the covid pandemic who did not respond by proxy.
| Weighted % (95% CI) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loneliness or Sadness | Feelings of Social Disconnection | ||||||||
| Characteristic | All beneficiaries included in MCBS COVID-19 supplement* no. (weighted %) | Increased | About the Same | Decreased | P value for group | Increased | About the Same | Decreased | P value for group |
| All beneficiaries | 8,159 (100) | 22.6 (21.6–23.6) | 74.9 (73.9– 75.9) | 2.5 (2.2–3.0) | 37.1 (35.5–38.6) | 51.1 (49.5–52.6) | 11.9 (10.9–12.9) | ||
| Age group | 0.049 | <0.001 | |||||||
| 65–74 years | 3,756 (64.7) | 23.3 (21.9–24.7) | 74.0 (72.5–75.4) | 2.7 (2.1–3.3) | 39.1 (37.0–41.1) | 48.7 (46.6–50.7) | 12.3 (10.7–13.8 ) | ||
| 75+ years | 4,403 (35.4) | 21.2 (19.9–22.5) | 76.5 (75.2–77.9) | 2.3 (1.8–2.8) | 33.4 (31.9–34.9) | 55.4 (53.7–57.2) | 11.2 (10.1–12.3) | ||
| Gender | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Female | 4,667 (56.5) | 27.8 (26.4–29.3) | 69.5 (68.0–71.0) | 2.7 (2.1–3.3) | 41.0 (39.1–43.0) | 48.3 (46.5–50.0) | 10.7 (9.4–12.0) | ||
| Male | 3,492 (43.5) | 15.7 (14.2–17.2) | 81.9 (80.4–83.5) | 2.3 (1.8–2.9) | 31.9 (30.0–33.8) | 54.7 (52.5–56.9) | 13.4 (12.0–14.8) | ||
| Race/Ethnicity | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Black, non-Hispanic | 643 (8.5) | 17.1 (13.9–20.3) | 78.7 (75.6–81.9) | 4.2 (2.6–5.7) | 23.4 (18.5–28.2) | 59.2 (53.5–64.8) | 17.5 (13.7–21.2) | ||
| Hispanic | 698 (6.9) | 28.1 (24.1–32.0) | 67.9 (63.8–72.0) | 4.1 (2.4–5.7) | 33.6 (29.0–38.2) | 52.4 (47.7–57.1) | 14.0 (10.1–17.8) | ||
| Other/Unknown | 401 (5.8) | 21.6 (17.2–25.9) | 74.4 (69.8–78.9) | 4.1 (1.9–6.2) | 35.8 (29.6–42.0) | 49.7 (43.9–55.4) | 14.5 (10.1–18.9) | ||
| White, non-Hispanic | 6,417 (78.8) | 22.7 (21.5–24.0) | 75.1 (73.9–76.4) | 2.1 (1.7–2.6) | 38.9 (37.1–40.1) | 50.2 (48.4–51.9) | 10.9 (9.8–12.0) | ||
| Medicaid eligibility | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Full | 508 (5.1) | 25.9 (21.3–30.5) | 67.4 (62.5–72.3) | 6.7 (4.1–9.3) | 26.9 (21.8–32.0) | 58.0 (52.9–63.2) | 15.1 (11.2–18.9) | ||
| Partial | 359 (3.2) | 19.1 (14.3–24.0) | 77.7 (72.7–82.7) | 3.1(0.9–5.4) | 27.8 (22.1–33.4) | 58.9 (52.4–65.4) | 13.3 (8.8–17.9) | ||
| None | 7,292 (91.8) | 22.5 (21.4–23.6) | 75.2 (74.1–76.3) | 2.3 (1.9–2.7) | 37.9 (36.3–39.6) | 50.4 (48.8–52.0) | 11.7 (10.6–12.7) | ||
| Live in metropolitan area | 0.004 | 0.003 | |||||||
| Yes | 6,307 (80.9) | 23.5 (22.4–24.6) | 73.8 (72.7–74.9) | 2.7 (2.2–3.1) | 37.8 (36.0–39.5) | 49.9 (48.1–51.8) | 12.3 (11.1–13.5) | ||
| No | 1,847 (19.2) | 18.7 (16.5–20.9) | 79.4 (77.0–81.8) | 1.9 (0.8–3.0) | 34.0 (30.9–37.2) | 55.9 (52.8–58.9) | 10.1 (8.6–11.6) | ||
| Limited English Proficiency (LEP) | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Yes | 333 (2.7) | 22.6 (21.5–23.6) | 70.4 (65.3–75.4) | 7.2 (3.4–10.9) | 24.9 (19.6–30.1) | 57.1 (50.8–63.5) | 18.0 (12.9–23.1) | ||
| No | 7,826 (97.3) | 22.6 (21.5–23.6) | 75.0 (74.0–76.1) | 2.4 (2.0–2.8) | 37.4 (35.8–39.0) | 50.9 (49.3–52.5) | 11.7 (10.7–12.7) | ||
| Live alone | <0.001 | 0.06 | |||||||
| Yes | 2,012 (21.5) | 29.9 (27.5–32.4) | 67.5 (64.9–70.2) | 2.5 (1.6–3.5) | 34.6 (32.0–37.1) | 54.2 (51.3–57.0) | 11.3 (9.5–13.0) | ||
| No | 6,132 (78.5) | 20.5 (19.4–21.7) | 76.9 (75.7–78.1) | 2.5 (2.1–3.0) | 37.8 (36.0–40.0) | 50.2 (48.4–52.0) | 12.0 (10.8–13.2) | ||
| Prior depression diagnosis | <0.001 | 0.001 | |||||||
| Yes | 1,667 (21.5) | 33.4 (30.7–36.1) | 63.1 (60.3–65.8) | 3.6 (2.4–4.7) | 42.1 (39.2–45.1) | 45.6 (42.5–48.7) | 12.2 (9.9–14.6) | ||
| No | 6,472 (78.6) | 19.6 (18.4–20.8) | 78.2 (77.0–79.3) | 2.3 (1.9–2.7) | 35.7 (33.9–37.5) | 52.5 (50.8–54.3) | 11.8 (10.6–12.9) | ||
| Prior dementia diagnosis | 0.21 | 0.008 | |||||||
| Yes | 162 (1.5) | 26.5 (18.5–34.6) | 69.2 (61.1–77.3) | 4.3 (0.9–7.7) | 30.0 (21.8–38.2) | 63.2 (54.9–71.4) | 6.8 (3.8–9.8) | ||
| No | 7,985 (98.5) | 22.5 (21.5–23.5) | 75.0 (74.0–76.0) | 2.5 (2.1–2.9) | 37.2 (35.6–38.8 | 50.9 (49.3–52.4) | 12.0 (10.9–13.0) | ||
| Internet access | 0.01 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Yes | 6,437 (84.5) | 23.2 (22.1–24.3) | 74.4 (73.3–75.5) | 2.5 (2.0–2.9) | 39.0 (37.4–40.7) | 48.8 (47.2–50.5) | 12.1 (11.0–13.3) | ||
| No | 1,682 (15.6) | 19.2 (16.8–21.6) | 77.7 (75.0–80.3) | 3.1 (2.2–3.9) | 26.4 (24.0–28.7) | 63.2 (60.2–66.1) | 10.5 (8.5–12.4) | ||
| Access to primary care during COVID pandemic | 0.007 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Yes | 7,253 (88.3) | 21.8 (20.7–22.8) | 75.8 (74.7–76.8) | 2.5 (2.1–2.9) | 35.9 (34.3–37.5) | 52.3 (50.7–53.9) | 11.8 (10.7–12.9) | ||
| No | 871 (11.7) | 28.2 (24.2–32.2) | 69.0 (64.7–73.3) | 2.8 (1.1–4.5) | 45.6 (41.6–50.0) | 41.9 (37.7–46.1) | 12.5 (9.8–15.3) | ||
*
Weighted percentages reflect MCBS complex survey weighting and do not perfectly match the raw numbers